This disclosure relates generally to vascular grafts for intraluminal delivery, and in particular, to a method and apparatus for repairing diseased or damaged sections of a vessel by fastening a prosthesis within the vessel.
Diseased or damaged blood vessels often cause weakening of the vessel wall resulting in an aneurysm whereby a blood vessel and especially an artery have a section of abnormal blood-filled dilation. For example, an abdominal aortic aneurysm is a sac caused by an abnormal dilation of the wall of the aorta, a major artery of the body as it passes through the abdomen.
The abdominal aortic aneurysm usually arises in the infrarenal portion of the arteriosclerotically diseased aorta, for example, below the kidneys. Left untreated, the aneurysm will eventually cause rupture of the sac with ensuing fatal hemorrhaging in a very short time. High mortality associated with rupturing led the state of the art into trans-abdominal surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms.
Surgery involving the abdominal wall, however, is a major undertaking with associated high risks. This type of surgery, in essence, involves replacing the diseased and aneurysmal segment of blood vessel with a prosthetic device which typically is a synthetic tube, or graft, usually fabricated of either DACRON(trademark), TEFLON(trademark), or other suitable material.
The present state of the art for intraluminal repair of a vessel does not fasten a prosthesis to the remaining aortic wall. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,571,171 and 5,571,173 disclose a method and apparatus for treating an abdominal aortic aneurysm by supplying a prosthesis or an aortic graft for intraluminal delivery that does not fasten the graft to the remaining aortic wall.
Presenting an aortic graft through the aorta by intraluminal delivery avoids major invasive surgery. The ""171 and ""173 patents disclose an aortic graft that is delivered intraluminally to the aneurysm site. The aortic graft is secured to the remaining aortic wall by a balloon that is inflated thereby causing the graft to contact and adhere to the remaining aortic wall.
The major disadvantages related to the combination of endovascular expanders, such as a balloon or stent, and prosthesis is the dilation of the natural artery with consequent migrations and periprosthetic losses. Upon withdrawal of the expander, the tissue is caused to collapse and the prosthesis disengages from the remaining aortic wall and tends to migrate to a location away from the aneurysm site to be repaired. The migration and movement of the disengaged aortic graft would then obstruct the affected vessel. The migration and movement of the aortic graft requires further treatment on the patient to remove the failed attempt to attach the aortic graft to the remaining aortic wall.
Further treatment may include major surgery that is hazardous and traumatic to the patient. Major surgery to remove the aortic graft defeats the benefits of intraluminal delivery of the aortic graft. The current state of the art does not disclose a fastener applicator that intraluminally delivers a vascular graft and endoluminally applies internal fasteners to fasten a prosthesis in place.
Accordingly, there is a present need for a fastener applicator that intraluminally delivers a vascular graft to a site within a vessel and applies fasteners to pass through both a prosthesis and the thickness of a vessel wall. The fastened prosthesis should also have the capability of following dilation of a vessel.
The invention provides systems and methods for applying a suture within a blood vessel lumen. The systems and methods advance within a blood vessel lumen a catheter tube having a distal region that carries a suture applicator. The systems and methods operate the suture applicator from a location external to the blood vessel lumen to apply a suture to an interior wall of a blood vessel lumen.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be pointed out in, or will be apparent from, the drawings, specification and claims that follow.